Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-10
pain Ssxoa for il? Put yourself in the
miners place-what would you call it?

plain Sszoa for it? Put yourself in the
miners place-whst would you call it?
''SIGN OR GUT"
Now there is no mistake at all about
the cOmpulsion in this business. OF
course, the practice differs in different
mines, but in those which deal in medi-
Cal blackmail the rule is usually strictly
enforced. Why, only daY or two ago
talked with Benjamin j. Riley, very in
telligent miner, who has been working a.
Humboldt, mine not far from Hazleton,
waere young DR.. Fruit is the medical
monopolist. Riley said;
81 have g large fsmiy, sir, which I
! love sud DO ell | can for, though
what with company stores aud COM
peny doctors ard comasuy rents and
doC6age and one robbery on top of
another, I've not been able to do for
them 81 / would like. or es my labor
ought to count for That IS fact as God
IS my Judge. Wen. sir, loving my family
and no having proper confidence in Dr.
Fruit, took the liberty of coming to
Hezleton and ring my own doctor
When payday came there was - cents
aI2inst me tor q doctor, 2S usual On the
ChecG. | refused to sign the coupon till
this rem wss taken off. You must
know, SIR, that we cut coupons st Ham
. bo!dt. It s g little document we have to
sign, saying that we have looked
over the cheek and waive the right to ali
ste pages. The company looks out for
No. /, you bet. Well, l wouldn't sigsf
Dr.. Fruits steal. Sign or quit was the
reply. l knew if | wouldn't sign the
company would hold back the pay so IoDg
ss it pleased, so l signed under protest
ana then quit. On, sir, it's terrible the
way Us poor fellows is robbed Under
man. Skeer & Company owns Humboldt
They pretend TO be above the average CT
operators up this way. But that's my
case, and you could find lots of them if
you looked ebout you"
AFRAID TO SUMMON OTHER DOCTORS.
A Young doctor of Hazelton, who is not
in any OF the rights, out practices consid-
erably among the miners, at their own re-
quest, declared TO me that it is pitiful how
frightened the poor fellows are. Very
often when they summon him it is done
as secretly and mysteriously as if they
were engaged in crime. ''Often,' he
said, "they beg me not to let their bosses
know that they have had the temerity to
call in an outside physician, declaring It
would be es much ss their places are
worth. OF course | keep their secrets for
them, but it makes my blood;boil to think
that men in my profession would stoop TO
such shameful business, and that white
men like you and l should be reduced to
such abjeCt slavery. do not wonder that
you have 7clept them the slaves of the
mines. The term is not far-fetched. In
g sccre OF 7ays, to my personal knoWl-
edge, these men are not free agents,
They are slaves in the stric,est sense of
the word"
asked him If there were not a good
deal Of Indignation among the outside
doctors at the monopoly doctoring.
"Why, yes" he said, "that is matter
Of course. Not that there is so much
money 70 b. made out Of these poor min
ing fox, particularly when you have to
ccuec. j. yourself. l sttend hundreds Of
cases for nothing ct ell, and am out of
pocket tor medicine given. Why, good
! Lord Then nan makes only 81 IN
month, as ore of my patients at Beaver
Meadow did recently, do you suppose
would have the me2nness to charge him
for my serYiCes|"
OF couise being a man Of heart, ne
would not and yet have 2 well authen-
| tiCated case of miner who began TO
! W0I 81 o certain mine DeaT HsZletOn on
! the last day of the month. His earnings
! for that day were Just &c cents. When
| tee check came in he wss Credi ed
With - cents for work and
Gcbited with IS cents for doctor, eny por-
| ton OF & month being charged ss whole,
according to the rule Of the company. |
would like to know if anywhere from
i heaven to hell there could DC meanness
so utterly despicable as this. You laugh,
perhaps, aud say you do not, cannot, be-
lieve this to be the case. Up here God
help them they laugh because it is so
natural and commonplaCe-so in keeping
with G thousand other Il cidents. Ga. if
! you wish To see the zero mark of human
nature me up to this region. | promise
you low barometer when you get among
the kirgs OF the middle coal fields.
ECKLkY cox SEES THE WRONG OF IT.
hear with much pleasure that eC
Senator Cox has had a change Of heart on
the doctor question since he found that
the light OF publicity had at last reached
the dark places of this modern serfdom
He has given notice that no more doctor
collections will be allowed st the Cox
Brothers mines. Hurrah Tor so much
Whatever faults Mr.. Eckley B. Cox has
blindness is not one of them, and when he
sees locomotive coming his way he
Knows enough to get off the track, As
gently as possible, 1 would advice less
Shrewd operators to have care, for the
whistle has sounded and public opinion is
coming down upon them mile minute
Clear the track, the engines coming, anC
bg the Eternal, if you don't get out Of The
way 1t will land you in the ditch Witt
this somewhat Talmsgian warning DROP
one Of the sadGest topics that this wofu
business has brought to my indignsn
pen. HAROLD W. RAYMOND.
"a little fire is quickly trodden out